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House of Fergusson
King Kenneth I (r.842-859AD) & King Duncan I (r.859-863AD) In 842 AD, King Kenneth I of Fergusson founded the Kingdom of Galria , formally uniting the Kingdoms of Galloway and Cumbria (after the death of the King of Cumbria- Brian II) and establishing together a new capital- still known today as "Dumfries". This was also due to the threat of a more powerful Kingdom- Bernicia. However after this establishment, Galria and Bernicia made a peace treaty, ending years of hostility. After the death of King Kenneth in 859 AD it was clear the family of Fergusson was not a happy one. In 859 AD King Duncan I (brother of King Kenneth I) was crowned and he continued the work of his brother- growing Galria to be powerful in everyway, however he died four years later in 863 AD. King Christopher I (r.863-876), King Alan (r.876-878) & King Elijah/Protector Gregor (r.878-889) The eldest son of Kenneth I, King Christopher I, was then crowned on 863 AD. He had to deal with some of the first attacks by Vikings. In 866 both the Kingdoms of Strathclyde and Bernicia were attacked by Vikings (Strathclyde by Amlaíb Conung and Ímar and Bernicia by Óisle, all of which were brothers). King Christopher realised this could be a threat to his Kingdom and so sent his armies to Bernicia to help fight off the invading Vikings and with the Viking's eventual defeat, in 870 AD came improved relations as well as the communion of King Christopher's sister with the Crown Prince of Bernicia - King Robert MacDuff. However, in 875 AD Vikings attacked North Galloway taking control of Stranraer- chief place of Wigtownshire. In 876 AD, King Christopher I and his army fought with the Vikings to retake Stranraer but it ended with the Vikings stripping Stranraer and Wigtownshire of everything and escaping to Ireland and also the death of King Christopher I. With King Christopher's death, his brother King Alan I was crowned. However he was killed in 878 AD by his closest advisers due to his poor leadership. This lead to the son of King Christopher's sister (King Elijah) to be crowned, but due to his age, Gregory, son of Duncan I was also crowned, but as Protector of Galria. With this crowning of King Elijah it meant that the Kingdoms of Galria and Bernicia were joined, with the capital being in Galashiels. This was the actual reason a Protector was crowned because the people of Galria did not feel comfortable being controlled by another Kingdom so it meant Protector Gregory had a very unique control over King Elijah and his activities. However, in 889 AD, Protector Gregory was killed in Bernicia leading to the expulsion of King Elijah from both Kingdoms as he was thought unfit to lead by Bernicia and also Galria no longer had that insurance of a Protector. King Duncan II (r.889-900), King Christopher II (r.900-943) & King Michael I (r.943-954) With the two Kingdoms going their separate ways again, King Duncan II (son of Christopher I) was installed as King of Galria, he too was victorious against Vikings but he, like his father, was killed in 900 AD, fighting Vikings. With the death of King Duncan II, came the crowning of King Christopher II (nephew of Christopher I). His reign was a long one but his was also the beginning of the Commonwealth. In 903 AD King Christopher fought battles against Vikings and in 904 those same Vikings left. In 914, the defeat of Barid son of Oitir by Ragnall grandson of Ivar in the Irish Sea is reported. It in is the period of dominance of northern Britain by Ragnall and his cousin Sihtric that Christopher is found as an ally of Constantine II of Alba, Donald I of Bernicia, and of "Queen" Ethelfleda of Mercia. Armies led by Ragnall and his brother Sihtric raided throughout northern Britain and Ireland. They attacked Chester, Dumbarton, Dumfries and Northumbria. The Uí Ímair - the grandsons of Ivar - were the greatest threat to Galria, hence the alliance with the Anglo-Saxons of Bernicia and Mercia. The first battle of Corbridge in 915 was won, which strengthened the peace between Galria, Bernicia and Mercia creating the alliance known as the United Commonwealth (UC) where the Kingdoms would help each other in both trade and war. After the second battle of Corbridge in 918, Mercia was annexed to Wessex thus creating the Kingdom of England and also removing itself from the UC. After Carham, Ragnall seized control of York. However, in 920, after taking direct control of Mercia soon after Ethelfleda's death, Edward the Elder forced Ragnall to acknowledge his rule. While neither of the kings may have been happy with the compromise of 920, neither did they live long enough to break the treaty. Ragnall died in 921, succeeded by his cousin Sihtric. Edward died in 924, followed by Ælfweard of Wessex, who reigned for a very short time, succeeded by his half-brother Athelstan. Sihtric may have rebelled in 924, but by 926 he had evidently acknowledged Athelstan as over-king, adopting Christianity and marrying a sister of Athelstan at Tamworth. Within the year Sihtric abandoned his new faith and repudiated his unwanted wife. Before Athelstan and he could fight, Sihtric died suddenly in 927. Athelstan moved quickly, seizing much of Northumbria, and securing the submission of Sihtric's brother Gofraid (or Guthfrith), of Ealdred of Bernicia, of Christopher, and of Owain of Strathclyde. Sihtric's young son Amlaíb Cuaran (Olaf Sihtricsson) fled to Ireland. In less than a decade, the kingdom of Wessex had become by far the greatest power in Britain and Ireland, and whatever threat the Vikings, or the early Uí Ímair, had posed, clearly the main threat to Galria was now to the south. By the 930s, Christopher, Constantine II of Alba, Owain of Strathclyde, Osalf I of Bernicia and Amlaíb mac Gofraid, the Uí Ímair king of Dublin, are found in alliance, certainly directed against Athelstan. In 933 or 934, Athelstan led "a great army and fleet" into Galria, Bernicia and Scotland and laid waste to the nations. If this was intended to bring about Christopher’s submission, it appears to have failed. In 937, the battle of Brunanburh was a notable victory for Athelstan and his brother Edmund over Christopher, Constantine, Osalf, Olaf and Owain. It is commemorated in an Old English poem. Owain of Strathclyde is supposed to have died in the battle, as did Cellach son of Constantine and John, son of Christopher. For all that Brunanburh was a great victory, it does not appear to have been sufficient to make rule by the West Saxon kings popular in the Danelaw. On 27 October, 939, at Malmesbury, as the Annals of Ulster report: "Athelstan, king of the Saxons, pillar of the dignity of the western world, died an untroubled death. Before the end of 939, Amlaíb mac Gofraid had seized York without resistance. In 940, he gained control of the Danelaw with little fighting, a treaty being signed with the new West Saxon king, Athelstan's brother Edmund, at the prompting of the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, near Leicester. Due to old age and ill-health King Christopher II abdicated the crown to his second cousin- Michael I. It was in his reign, the UC saw the power of the new English Kingdom. In 945, Edmund of Wessex, having expelled Olaf Curran from Danelaw, devastated South Bernicia, blinded two sons of King Osulf I. Edmund then leased South Bernicia to King Michael in exchange for an alliance. Edmund knew that under the UC rules, Michael should accept, of which he did but gave the “lease” to King Olaf. Edmund did however take lands in the South of Bernicia for himself. In 949-950, Olaf Curran retook York and so both King Michael and Osulf together retook all of Bernicia and invaded Deiria and stripped it of supplies. Wars between England and Galria continued for many years, but in 954 King Michael I was killed in a battle in York of which was lost resulting in York becoming part of the Kingdom of England. King Ian (r.954-962), King Darren (r.962-967) & King Callum (r.967-971) After Michael’s death, King Ian (son of Christopher II) was crowned King. His reign saw the invasion of Ulster (in 955), killing King Ardgal of Ulster in the process, which weakened Ulster’s resolve and then by 961 Ulster was taken. However, in 962 Galria felt the impact of this war- food shortages, civil unrest etc. So later that year King Ian abdicated and died later that year, his crown was handed to King Darren (son of Michael I). His reign was made up of solving the problems in Galria that his predecessor created. He opened trade with England and Ireland and also appointed his brother- Kenneth (soon to be King Kenneth II), Prince of Ulster. However in 967, Callum, son of Ian, had King Darren removed from the crown as he claimed he was the rightful heir to the throne of Galria and Ulster; however Darren’s brother- Kenneth continued to be Prince of Ulster, virtually removing it from Galria until 971 where King Waltheof of Bernicia, invaded Dumfries and had King Callum put to death having apparently raped his daughter. Of that same year, Kenneth returned to Dumfries, thanked Waltheof and was crowned King Kenneth II. King Kenneth II (r.971-995), King Kenneth III (r.995-1005) & King Michael II (1005-FIND OUT MORE) King Kenneth’s reign had no major events up until 973 where Kenneth went to Chester to acknowledge the overlordship of the English King, Edgar. Whom drawn the borders between England, Galria and Bernicia. Another major event happened in Kenneth’s reign where he was killed by associates of Christopher III (son of Callum) allowing him to take the crown in 995. However, this was to be short-lived, as in 997 he was killed in battle by supporters of King Kenneth III (son of Darren and Prince of Ulster). While King Kenneth III was crowned in Belfast (at his request), the son of King Kenneth II, Michael was mounting an offensive against the King as Michael truly was the heir to the throne and so in 1005, Michael was crowned King Michael II. In that same year, a battle raged in Dumfries (known as the battle for Ulster, since King Kenneth was seen as King of Ulster since been crowned there and King Michael was fighting for it). Near the end of 1005, it was Michael who won by the killing of Kenneth and to mark the occasion, Michael was recrowned King Michael II of Galria and Ulster, visited Belfast, Dumfries and Galashiels (to better relations) and announced that he will be called King Michael Fergusson Elliot (thereby starting the House of Elliot) in order to distinguish himself and his, what he called, “traitorous cousin”. The Beginning of the House of Elliot BACK TO UC Category:Leaders